The present invention relates to an extractor device for machine tools, welding and manufacturing machines and the like.
In particular, the present invention relates to an extractor device designed to be installed on the machining heads of machine tools to remove shavings and dusts from the machining area, or, for example, on welding torches for removing and extracting the fumes and vapors from the welding area, without in any way limiting the scope of the invention.
As is known, in stock removal machining processes machining waste is flung far from the area of action of the tool due to the high speed of tool rotation.
A known solution for keeping the machining area and the surrounding area clean is to convey and collect shavings and dusts in special channels by means of extractor outlets positioned close to the tools which perform the machining. Said outlets have the disadvantage of not being able to be moved towards the machining point past a predetermined limit, both due to the shape, often irregular, of the workpiece being machined, and due to the variability of the dimensions of the various tools which may be used one after another during the machining cycle. The direct consequence of this is inefficient shavings extraction, since the extracting action is noticeably reduced with an increase in the distance from the machining point. In practice, only a minimum part of the lightest or even dusty shavings, such as those produced by machining wood or polymers, are extracted.
This disadvantage was at least partly eliminated by substituting the outlets with an extractor hood which surrounds and encloses the tool. In technical solutions of this type the hood is usually interchangeable, so that on each occasion the hood with the most suitable dimensions can be mounted around the tool.
However, even hoods cannot be moved towards the machining point beyond a predetermined limit, to prevent them from striking the surface being machined, above all in the cases in which said surface is very irregular. For this reason improved hoods were developed, on the lower edge of which an annular brush, or an annular flexible strip is mounted, which, skimming the surface being machined, improves the extraction seal. However, in practice, it was found that both the brushes and the strips tend to wear or deform easily, compromising the efficiency of the extractor device on which they are mounted. This means that they need substituting periodically, involving costs both for materials and labor.
Very similar and equivalent problems are also found for other manufacturing or welding machines, for example for extracting and removing from the welding area any fumes and vapors produced by welding.